Blommor

It's often said that, "April showers bring May flowers." Though it didn't rain that much in Sweden in April (it was still snowing!), there are flowers everywhere! Maybe I just don't pay attention in Texas and flowers are all over the place there too (besides the Bluebonnets that make a brief appearance)... but the flowers that I've seen in Europe in the past month are so nice and pretty and make me happy!

Flowers in Helsinki
Flowers in Paris

Flowers in Stockholm

Flowers in Uppsala

Another trip to Stockholm: Kungsholmen och Östermalm

I've lost count of how many times I've been to Stockholm this semester. But, there are so many fun things to do in Sweden's capital - fika at great cafés, shop at one of the hundreds of H&Ms, visit museums, or just wander through the city. During my most recent visit, I explored Kungsholmen with my Tita and Östermalm with Johanna...

Västerbron bridge on Kungsholmen - also part of Stockholm's upcoming marathon

View from Kungsholmen

The coolest baby in Stockholm

View of Sergels Torg from the massive Åhlens

The Linné statue in Humlegården - however, the actual statue part seems to be missing

Engelbrektskyrkan in Östermalm

I'm attempting to take a photo of the entire church. Johanna was taking pictures of me. Views of posh Östermalm from Engelbrektskyrkan

Engelbrektskyrkan and statues of Da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" sketchesMe, attempting to get into the same position as the statue behind me
Walking to Karlaplan
Karlaplan fountain
Sweden's idea of public toilets - just kidding, Sweden actually has very nice public toilets... so nice that you have to pay to use them! The soapy statue outside of Uppsala's train station - the soap isn't usually there

1 Month

The end is in sight. I have been in Sweden for 128 days and have exactly one month until I leave. The past 128 days have been such an adventure! Every day has been new, exciting and full of opportunity. I've visited Brussels, Brugge, Helsinki and Paris (and made a brief return to the US). I've attempted to learn a new language and have had tons of fun doing it. I've seen and appreciated the drastic change in seasons - a January sunset of 4pm and now a sunset at 1030pm and all of the white and ice has been replaced with green and flowers. I've adapted to walking/riding a bike everywhere. I've visited castles and churches older than the US. I've made mistakes when buying food at the grocery store but still have become fond of many "typical" Swedish meals (ärtsoppa och pannkakor). I've grown closer to my family in Stockholm and seen my baby cousin change and grow. I've lived with 11 amazing people.



There are a ton of things that I'm going to miss about Sweden in general, Stockholm and Uppsala, and Ekeby. But, I'm sure there will be at least 1 or 2 more sentimental/reflective posts that go into detail before I head back to Texas. For now I'm going to leave a few photos and enjoy my last 31 days.

I'm going to miss these kids
And I'm going to miss this view

More Parisian Fun

As if you haven't had enough, here are more fun photos from Paris!

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View from our hotel window by day and by night
These famous cows were everywhere

According to this sign on the Île de la Cité, the French don't want you to hold hands with small children
Funky metro stop in Montmartre...

...In contrast to this metro stop on the Champs Élysées
The Sacré Coeur and a carousel
A duck hanging out in the Jardin des Tuileries

A brave cat riding the escalator down to the metro

A warning at the Eiffel Tower
And proof that we really climbed up 668 stairs

À bientôt!

Rendez-vous in Paris, Part 2

Day 3

My third day in Paris started with a trek to the Eiffel Tower. It's huge in real life and doesn't hold a candle to the mock version at King's Dominion in Virginia! We climbed up 668 stairs to the second level of the tower and then took an elevator to the very top (they make you take an elevator, otherwise we would have continued the journey by foot since we're troopers!). The views of Paris were breathtaking and only got better as we got further up!

One of the legs on the Eiffel Tower Views from the top If you look closely, you can see the Arc de Triomphe Me and Zack at the top

Posing in front of the Eiffel Tower with Zack and Josh. On the way up to the top, there are little plaques displaying random information about the tower such as in the 1980s, there was a dirt bike race up the stairs of the tower and Gustav Eiffel used to live in an apartment at the very top!

After the Eiffel Tower, we had lunch and went to the Galeries Lafayette to do some shopping. Although we didn't buy anything, it was fascinating to walk around inside of the shopping center. It's very fancy and upscale - and we even visited the champagne and wine bars inside the department store.

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Day 4

Our fourth day in Paris came too soon. Since we different destinations, my Parisian traveling buddies and I parted ways early in the afternoon. Then, I headed to Montmartre and to the Sacré Coeur.
Montmartre
The Sacré Coeur
After the Sacré Coeur, I took the metro back to the Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries to sit at an outdoor café and soak up the end of my time in Paris!

To sum up my trip to Paris, I've borrowed from the cheesy Mastercard commercial.

Days in Paris: 4

Hotel room number: 603

Stairs climbed up and down the Eiffel Tower: 1336

My first trip to Paris, reuniting with an old friend and making a new one: Priceless